1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoe for fastener driving tools such as nail and staple guns, used in construction and home improvement. In particular, the shoe can be a part of the gun, an attachment or a separate device that serves as a positioning guide and is designed to provide sufficient spacing and orientation between the fastener driving tool and the target construction material to prevent impact marring of the material surface and to increase speed and ease of movement for the user. The shoe changes the impact point between the driving tool and the construction material and, in particular, protects the top edge of a tongue and groove construction material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fastener driving tools such as pneumatic and manually driven nail and staple guns are commonly used in construction to provide improved speed and efficiency for construction workers. These tools are used in many construction and home improvement projects on various building elements such as floors, walls and roofs. Modern construction techniques emphasize speed and volume to drive the economics and much of the attention of the focus of improvements to tools is on speed, spacing and aim involved.
For example, Hubbard et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,307 describe a device to place two nail guns in combination to effectively nail edges of adjacent panel members and to control spacing. Similarly, Lin in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,588 and Braddock in U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,445 both describe auxiliary sliding elements fastened to the nail cartridge or magazine of a nail gun to provide better spacing and precise angles for wall boards (""307) and shingles (""445).
Other improvements to nail guns are aimed at providing guidance for the worker. These guides may be attached to the tool or may be separate. Yoshitaka and Kunio in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,660 have provided a nail gun with a bit guide to improve direction and aim when attaching baseboards. Further, Jensen in CA2,009,252 provides for a system for positioning fasteners while using a nail gun. This invention describes a connector, separate from the tool, for positioning fasteners to a wall prior to fastening with the tool.
Waste, on the other hand, has been addressed nominally on project budgets and even less in improvements to tools. Waste during construction is a considerable problem and design of tools to reduce waste is lacking. Common causes of waste and rework include damage caused to construction materials by the tools themselves. For example, in assembling wood floors, considerable effort is required to prevent impact damage to the floorboard caused by the pneumatic or manual fastener-driving tool. The tool abuts the floorboard at one or more points and when the fastener is driven into the tongue of the board to set it, the tool can impact the board causing marring or damage to the surface appearance of the board. This is a common problem for unskilled homeowners making improvements to their home and to apprentice carpenters new to the floor assembly process. When impact damage occurs to a floorboard or other construction material, refinishing is not always possible to correct the damage and the damaged material must be removed entirely and replaced. This causes considerable increases in costs due to waste and lost time.
It is an object of the invention to provide a device to eliminate impact damage to construction materials caused by fastener-driving tools and to facilitate the use and accuracy of the tool.
It is a further object of the invention to reduce waste and cost caused by impact damage on construction materials and necessary reconstruction.
It is a further object of the invention to improve efficiency of use of fastener-driving tools.
It has now been found that objects of the invention can be achieved by changing the contact point between the fastener-driving tool and the construction material. An additional feature of the invention improves the speed of use of fastener-driving tools by providing a consistent contact point between the fastener-driving tool and the construction material. Providing a floating contact point that can guide the fastener-driving tool along the construction material when multiple fasteners are required increases speed and efficiency further. The design of the attachment reduces the likelihood that the fastener-driving tool will rock, providing consistent fastening and a reduced chance of error that requires rework. In the example of flooring construction, the contact point is moved from a point above the tongue to the tongue of a tongue and groove plywood or hardwood. Furthermore, the impact on the tongue is dispersed over a wider area, preventing any damage to the tongue and allowing the adjoining piece to fit properly.
The foregoing and other objects are achieved by providing fastener-driving tools with a cradle or shoe of molded plastic, rubber, Teflon or formed wood which can be adapted to each tool and which eliminates any contact point between the tool and the top edge of the construction material other than the point of entry of the fastener. This provides a non-marring contact surface and guide at an appropriate point between the tool and the construction material and improves speed and efficiency while reducing waste. The cradle or shoe can be a separate device, can be an add-on attachment, or can be an integral element of the tool.
In one embodiment, the invention has been designed to attach to either a Stanley-Bostitch Mark III flooring stapler or a Powernailer(copyright) Model 200 nailer. The invention quickly and easily installs onto the flooring stapler and is attached in place of a Teflon plate that is located on the bottom of the flooring stapler. This Teflon plate allows the nailer to contact the construction material just below the top edge of the finished product. The thickness of the Teflon plate dictates precisely where the nailer will contact the construction material. Typically the plate makes contact above the tongue on a tongue and groove floorboard. Damage can occur to the construction material if the nailer is not seated properly. The next floorboard may still fit but visible damage can be seen on the finished surface. This is unacceptable in construction and requires rework to remove and replace the damaged board.
Replacing the Teflon plate with the invention eliminates this point of impact between the flooring stapler and the floorboard, disperses the impact over a wider area and eliminates impact damage. The impact point is moved to the tongue and when an adjoining board is fitted into place, the contact point is covered. If any damage is done to the contact point, it will not be visible in the finished product.
The invention also provides a guide so the flooring stapler can be placed consistently on the floorboard and which necessarily limits the point of impact to the point where the nail or staple enters the floorboard. The invention is lightweight and can be made of high impact molded plastic, rubber or other suitable materials. It is designed to be used by home construction enthusiasts all the way to master carpenters. It is sufficiently flexible for use with staples, nails or with power cleats. It can also be used as separate device to move tongue and groove floorboards into place, as in the example of glued flooring. Thus in non-stapled, glue-affixed flooring, the device can be used to place the floorboards together without the step of driving a nail or staple afterward.
Flooring staplers and nail guns are commonly used in construction and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be applied to any brand or make of such tool.